Does anyone sometimes get into such state where it seems that creative juices just seem to be pouring out? Like your mind seems to just shoot you with ideas for music or picture or whatever else that rocks your boat.

I often get into such state unawares after midnight when I'm just chilling out, reading something, or trying to go to sleep, feels like a *click* and you start thinking completely differently - a barrage of sounds (or sometimes GUIs for programs or mobile phones haha) from the imagination. Then all you have to do is fire up the DAW and if you manage to follow what's going on or start directed experimentation - there you go, a really nice idea for something new or something you've been working on. As if the right brain opened up, leaving the left fellow somewhere behind.

Can anyone relate?

It seems to happen at night, when there's little ambient noise and I've been wondering if there was a way to get into such state relatively on-demand (yoga, meditation, maybe? anyone has experience with that?) - maybe even somehow conditioning oneself into it being the 'default' state?

thecontrolcentre wrote:I'd say use it while you got it ... inspiration seems to come and go over the years. Can't always rely on it.

I don't know if it could be called inspiration - I always consider inspiration to be a sudden burst of ideas following some stimulus, some experience, like a great concert or a movie, making you somewhat very interested to go through / to the creative process, but doesn't seem to possess that quality of flow, where you don't necessarily need to follow through an idea, but you just seem to be able to be liberated from any attempts to consciously predetermine the way you want something to sound, like liberation from any theoretical aspects of music, or synthesis, or sampling, or *insert x here*, you just sit down and just know what you want (not the right word here, as this state seem to be, you know, being in the moment and 'want' implies some aspect of the future) to do. Well, somewhat textbook description of what the right hemisphere of the brain does.

Doesn't really matter how you call it, don't want to get into semantics here, but the fact that one uncontrollably gets into such state means that the mind is capable of doing it, thus controlling it. Just the lifetime of relying on the left-brain makes it the dominant one - it should be possible to reverse this, I believe.

sometimes I have dry spells, some times I have too low an energy level to apply myself. But if I did not have consistent 'flow' and ideas I think I would be doing something else such as normal people do, have a job and a life. I take it as a product of the will to work, there will be ideas once I get down to it and they will arrive until I get exhausted physically. I have a DAW and make the sacrifice to have these materials because I always had a lot of ideas (in fact it's not so feasible for me to do other things), not the other way around. Sometimes, today I think I get a day off.

I have been diagnosed as bi-polar but I never had a wild manic state such as is known, and I won't go way down. Sometimes I have a 'flat affect', but more typically 'irritated'. Some people take a lot of caffiene to be this way! It's a matter of sublimation. I do get a check though.

that quality of flow, where you don't necessarily need to follow through an idea, but you just seem to be able to be liberated from any attempts to consciously predetermine the way you want something to sound, like liberation from any theoretical aspects... you just sit down and just know what you want (not the right word here, as this state seem to be, you know, being in the moment and 'want' implies some aspect of the future) to do.

elnn wrote:It seems to happen at night, when there's little ambient noise and I've been wondering if there was a way to get into such state relatively on-demand (yoga, meditation, maybe? anyone has experience with that?) - maybe even somehow conditioning oneself into it being the 'default' state?

While falling asleep in bed I often pass through a state where it's easier to remember previous dreams.

Something to try, condensed from my reading and occasional practice in this area, is to sit in medium to low light in a stable chair (i.e., one you won't fall out of or tip over) in an environment without disturbances. You could also sit in some kind of lotus position on a zen cushion or similar if that is comfortable and stable for you.

Relax physically and mentally, eyes closed, "relaxing the hand of thought" as one book puts it. Without expectations or preconceptions or invitations, just let whatever come as it may (or not) -- not seeking, not rejecting, not grasping, not controlling, not doing or making, just observing whatever, such as it is at the time. For a little while, just be the context in which whatever occurs.

Do that for a little while, which might turn out to be 10 or 20 minutes or a while -- but don't worry about time or other matters -- the duration is the kind of thing you can judge like any kind of artist.

Set aside a little time for this, without expectations, and remember that you can always go back to other matters afterwards. Anything real will still be there. Just set aside that little span of time to relax and listen on all channels.